Someone New
by KayKel
Summary: Jemma never dreamed of a day when Fitz wasn't her partner, her best friend, her other half. How will she move forward now that he's removed her from his life and maybe even his heart?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay I cannot tell you how badly Fitzsimmons is breaking my heart! I've only written one fic before this and it was for Arrow so this is new territory for me. I'm not sure how long this fic will be or if I'll continue it so please please please let me know if you like it or want another chapter. Let me know if you don't!**

**Enjoy! xoxo**

_I can work for you. I just can't work with you._

Jemma reclines in her bunk, mulling over those two sentences like she's done every night since he said them. Those words were a constant reminder of everything that had gone so horribly wrong. His words were only a part of the problem. Despite his difficulty speaking, he seemed to have a much easier time sharing his feelings with her than she had with him. It was her words that ruined everything, or the lack there of. Every time she had tried to tell him something, anything to make things right, she couldn't get the words out. How do you tell the man you love more than anyone in the entire world that you can't help him? That you make him worse. That, because you love him, you left him. All Jemma wanted to do was help her best friend. The two of them spent years completing each other. She wasn't sure where she ended and he began and now he was broken and she couldn't fix him. And it was her fault.

If she had been faster, if she had convinced him to come up with a different plan, if she hadn't pressured him to join the team in the first place, if if if. That's all Jemma did. Think about what could've been. It kept her from thinking about what is, which was way worse.

It's been three weeks since he told her he couldn't work with her. It's been three weeks and just thinking about that moment brings tears to her constantly red-rimmed eyes. She finds herself noting that she's cried more in the last year than she has in her entire existence.

A knock at her door pulls her from her thoughts and she quickly wipes the freshly fallen tears off her cheeks.

"Who is it?" She questions, trying halfheartedly to sound cheerful.

"It's just me." Jemma sighs in relief. She doesn't have to pretend to be anything. It's Skye.

She makes her way out of bed and flips the lock, "May I help you with something at...2:23 am, Skye?"

Skye just rolls her eyes and moves into the room, "I couldn't sleep, and I knew you'd be up."

Skye knows Jemma hasn't been sleeping regularly ever since Fitz dumped her for the guys in the garage. She makes herself at home on the made up side of Jemma's bed and then gestures for her friend to take a seat.

"Why do I get the feeling there's more to it than that?" Jemma is nervous. Skye is a wonderful best friend. She is a fantastic agent. Possibly an alien (currently running experiments). Skye is a lot of things, but she's not a light sleeper. Jemma has known Skye for close to a year and has never once woken up after her. Never seen her in the kitchen in the middle of the night. Never really seen her after midnight or before 7 a.m. Something is definitely up.

Skye looks down at her hands while mindlessly playing with the rings on her fingers, "I was just wondering how you were doing? I mean, I know you and Fitz were never a 'thing' but it's got to be a little weird, and when I saw your lamp on I figured I'd come check on you is all."

Jemma tilt her head to the side, forehead crinkled in confusion, "Skye, what on earth are you talking about?"

Now it was Skye's turn to looked confused, "What do you mean? I'm sure you've noticed. Hell, even May said something about it." She waits for Jemma to respond. When she doesn't, Skye continues, "Jemma come on, you're telling me you haven't noticed Allison at all?"

"Who the bloody hell is Allison? I have no clue what you're babbling about, Skye, but come on with it!"

Skye's eyes go wide and she's realized her mistake, "Oh. Oh god. Nevermind, forget I said anything." She moves to escape but Jemma jumps up and cuts her off from the door.

"And just where do you think you're going?! You can't ramble on about some girl and Fitz and then just leave. I don't know how many friendship rules that breaks, but definitely multiple ones! So sit your gossiping self back down and spill, right now!" Jemma points her finger and begins walking Skye backwards towards the bed.

"Fine. FINE. Stop poking me. You're small, but very scary. Okay. Fine. Look, I guess I can assume you haven't been down to the garage much since Fitz broke up with you, right?" Skye leans back against the wall that the bed is pushed up against.

Jemma rolls her eyes, but only to cover the flash of pain she knows is there, "Okay, first of all, he did not break up with me. He simply decided he would be of better use there than with me in the lab. That's all. We are civil, if not friendly."

"Yeah well, that sounds like the definition of a break up, but what do I know. Anyways, since you haven't been there, I can assume you haven't met the new engineer Coulson brought on. Her name is Allison."

Jemma's eyes narrow, "Go on."

"Well over the last week or so, Bobbi and I have noticed a few things here and there. She touches him a lot. Shoulders. Forearms. They are constantly together. She made him tea, Jemma. TEA. I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

Jemma wonders how quickly you could have a panic attack and if it could happen and be over before anyone noticed. She's almost positive that's what just happened. She takes a moment to collect herself and plasters a smile on her face, "Well then, good for him. I don't see why you felt the need to come to me about it. Fitz is his own man, who deserves all the happiness in the world."

"Jemma."

"Skye, stop."

Skye holds her hands up in surrender, "Fine. Fine. I just thought you should know. Whenever you're done denying that it bothers you, you know where I live." She gets up and leaves the room, before quickly opening the door again, "I live here. Real close. Don't keep me waiting." And then she was gone.

Jemma slumps back down on her bed, "Allison. What kind of name is that anyways?" She throws her head back against her pillow, "An extremely normal one that can't be critiqued is what it is, Jemma."

She spends the rest of her night sleeplessly wondering why this Allison character bothers her so much. What she had said about Fitz was the truth. He was his own man. He could do as he pleased. She's had years to decide whether or not she saw Leopold Fitz in a romantic light and she was out of time to decide. Simple as that. Him moving on should be good for their relationship, not unnerving.

The problem, Jemma convinces herself, is Allison. Fitz is her best friend in the world and she'll be damned if he gets involved with someone less than what he deserves.

She checks her phone to find that it's a little after five. The only person that she would possibly run into is May, everyone else will still be asleep for a few hours. She throws her covers back and storms towards Skye's room. Once she deems this person worthy of Fitz's attention she can go back to consciously avoiding him and any thoughts of him.

She pushes open Skye's door, knowing it'll be unlocked. She's surprised to find her very much awake and on her laptop.

She closes the door behind her, "Okay. Look at me and listen. I do not have a problem. I am not jealous. This will not cause issues. I am completely, 100 percent fine with Fitz liking someone else. Got it?"

"Um. Yes?"

Jemma flashes her best innocent smile, "Great. Now tell me everything you know about her, starting from birth."

Skye returns Jemma smile with a smirk, "Took you long enough."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two for your enjoyment! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up because school has started back for me but I hope to not keep you all waiting too long. Thank you so much for reading and for your feedback!**

By 7 a.m. Jemma could tell you not only Allison's place of birth, family history, and educational background, she could tell you her favorite color, restaurant preferences, and that her last cat's name was Chester. Jemma caught herself thinking that Fitz was allergic to cats so it obviously wasn't going to work out long term.

Other than that, however, everything about Allison seemed normal, exemplary even. She went to MIT, where she got her Master's in Engineering. She was on three philanthropy committees there. She volunteered monthly at the animal shelter. Her father was a Level 5 Shield agent, which is how she ended up here in the first place. Long, dark brown hair, almost black. Golden brown eyes. Porcelain skin. Dimples.

"I don't like her." Jemma concluded.

Skye bit her lip to keep from grinning at Jemma's blatant jealousy, "Why is that? She seems nice. She's passed every background check I've run on her. Hell, the girl saved three small children from a burning car last Spring. What could possibly bother you about her, dear Simmons?"

"No one is that perfect. Not one skeleton in her closet, no, I don't buy it. And I'm sure when Fitz finds out whatever it is she's hiding, he'll be crushed and we simply can't have that."

Skye rolled her eyes, "I'll tell you what, I'll have Bobbi keep an eye on her and let us know if anything seems fishy. You know, you could always just talk to Fitz about her if she bothers you, all it would-"

"Ha. Absolutely not, Skye." Jemma interrupts, "It's one thing to check up on possible threats to his happiness, but I will not intrude into his business. He's made it perfectly clear my opinions are not wanted. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to eat breakfast and then head up to the lab to run more tests on your blood samples."

"You haven't found anything different with my blood in three weeks, I doubt that'll change today!" Skye calls out after Jemma, who was already halfway down the hall.

Skye pulls out her phone and dials a number, "Hey. Step One is complete. You've got the go ahead for Step Two."

_- later that day_

"Take these samples to the refrigerator, we'll have to finish the tests tomorrow. Thank you." Jemma hands the sample tray to one of her assistants. She was having trouble concentrating on her work and didn't want to compromise any of the tests because her head wasn't fully in the game.

She sits down at one of the stools and props her chin on her hands, resting her elbows on the counter. Knowing it's unavoidable, she lets her mind wander to where it always goes, _Fitz. _

_What is he doing today? What project is he working on? Has his stuttering gotten any better. Is Mack helping him? Is Allison? Allison. God, I wish I knew what her angle was. What does she want with him? I mean, objectively speaking, he is young and not unattractive. And kind. And very funny when he wants to be. But so what. There were other attractive men on our team, ones who weren't vulnerable, or mine. Mine? No I did not just think that. He is not yours, Jemma Simmons. Just because he's been yours for the last 10 years does not mean you get to be territorial over him now. Not after you left him. And never even told him why._

Jemma is pulled out of her downward spiraling thoughts by a tap on the glass window of her lab. She looks up to Lance motioning for her to open the doors. She finds this peculiar due to the fact that Lance Hunter has never once come up here. She didn't even think he knew where it was. Apparently, she was wrong.

Opening the door, Jemma smiles, "How may help you, Mr. Hunter?"

"Hey Simmons." He looked almost uncomfortable. He glances to each side of the room, checking for other people before continuing, "Bobbi sent me. She said you wanted information on Allison and I have something you may find... pertinent."

Jemma really began to question the children she chose to spend her days with, "Oh bloody hell, this is not some top secret mission, Hunter! All I wanted to know was if she was nice enough for someone as nice as Fitz and now you and Bobbi are in on it, acting like she's Hydra or something!"

"Hey Lady. Don't yell at me for trying to help! This is why I don't help people. No one is appreciative. I'll just take my knowledge elsewhere, where small scientists won't holler at me."

Jemma rolled her eyes, suppressing a laugh, "Oh shut it Hunter. What is it?"

He grins and steps inside the room, letting the door close behind him, "Okay, well you didn't hear it from me, but word around the Playground is that Allison was seen entering Fitz's room late last night and was spotted leaving around 4:30 this morning. I told Bobbi, who told Skye, who checked the security footage, and lo and behold, it was true. It caught her going in last night and leaving this morning."

Jemma was silent for what seems like an eternity for Hunter. He thought this was juicy. He didn't know Jemma all that well, but he knew how Fitz felt about her. And if she felt even a fraction of what he felt for her, she should be having some reaction, not just standing there, zoned out.

"Hello Love? Earth to Simmons?" He waves his hand in front of her face.

She rapidly blinks and makes eye contact with him again, "Sorry. Sorry, well good for them." She smiles and continues, "I wish them all the happiness in the world. I hate to be short, but I was actually just on my way out when you came in, so if you'll excuse me."

Jemma steps around him and quickly ducks into the women's bathroom.

Hunter smirks and heads out of the lab, only to bump into Fitz himself, "Oh sorry, chap. Didn't see you there. What are you, um, what are you doing up here?" He scratches the back of his neck and glances towards the bathroom, silently willing Simmons to stay in there.

"I couldn't figure out th-the algorithm for a prototype I'm working on and I-I-I figured Jemma would know. She here?" He gives Hunter a tense but friendly smile.

"Oh uh, nope. You just missed her. She headed out for coffee with Skye, sorry." He taps his foot, knowing he's running out of time.

A flash of something Hunter could only describe as sadness crossed Fitz's eyes for a brief moment, "Ah. Yeah. O-Okay. I'll uh I'll figure it out m'self then." Fitz turns to leave and Hunter lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Fitz spins back around before the doors close, "Hunter, could ya do me a favor?"

Hunter clenches his jaw for a second, "What is it?"

"Um. Could you tell Jem-Jemma, could you tell Jemma not to drink coffee this late? She-she'll never get to sleep tonight. She uh she knows better. That's all."

"Of course, pal." Hunter smiles at him and Fitz heads down the hall. If Hunter were the type of guy to have emotions, he'd feel something akin to pity for these two. They both had so much to say and no courage to say it.

With a shake of his head, he makes his way towards the kitchen, only to be yanked into a supply closet.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!?" He yells. A string is pulled and a light comes on, exposing Skye.

"I was going to ask you the same thing!? What did you say to Simmons? To Fitz?" Skye fiercely whispers.

"I heard Bobbi tell you that Allison was in Fitz's room last night and so I may have embellished and shared that with Simmons is all."

Skye reared back and smacked him across the arm, "Why?! Why would you do that!? I have a plan and it doesn't involve-"

"Oh come off it! Your plan is going at a snail's pace, I just thought I'd liven things up a bit. It doesn't matter anyway, she didn't even seem upset. She just excused herself to the bathroom. And Fitz came looking for her help on some science thing but I told him you and Simmons went for coffee. So you're welcome for avoiding that awkward exchange."

Skye debates attacking a skilled field agent inside of a supply closet. She comes extremely close to giving in. Controlling her breath, she finally speaks, "Are you telling me that for the first time in three weeks Fitz voluntarily comes to see Simmons and you tell him she's not here?"

"Oh."

"Oh is right. Stay away from my plan, Lance, or I will end you."

Lance's eyes widen and he nods, "Got it."

"Now if you'll excuse me, there is a crying Jemma Simmons in the bathroom I need to attend to."

She moves to open the door.

"What do you mean, crying? She said she was fine. She smiled. She said good for them. I didn't make her cry." Lance questions, looking slightly worried.

Skye rolls her eyes, "I can see now why you're divorced."


	3. Chapter 3

"Putting your feet up won't keep me from knowing you're in here. You know that right?"

Jemma sighs and kicks open the stall door, "I'm not the best at hiding I suppose."

"Or lying." Skye says as she jumps up to sit on the counter top across from Jemma's open stall.

The sight before Skye's eyes makes her heart hurt. Just glancing at Simmons, you wouldn't notice anything wrong. But Skye knew her. And she was falling to pieces. Nails bitten down to almost nothing. Her hair was thrown up in a haphazard bun. The neat, fashionable blouse she wore was wrinkled and untucked. It was her eyes that bothered Skye the most. It was almost like she could see her heartbreak in her eyes. They were lifeless and sad and Skye knew there was more to the story than Simmons being uncomfortable with Fitz liking someone else or feeling guilty that she left him when he needed her. Skye felt like it was possible she was causing more damage than good with her plan, but she was too far in it to back out now. She just hoped it'd be worth it in the end.

After a few moments, Skye breaks the silence, "You can only pretend to be okay for so long. It's time to talk about it."

At first Jemma doesn't respond and Skye begins to think that nothing is going to come from trying to talk about Fitz, yet again,"Come on, Jemma. You have to let it out." She pleads one more time.

Jemma looks up at her friend and the dam breaks, "He's been my best friend for the last decade, Skye." It comes out as almost a whisper, "Every day it's been him beside me. First at school, then at SciOps. The Bus. I've never had to go a day with wondering what he was doing or how he was feeling because I could just ask him. He was right there. I've spent the last ten years in this bubble of Leopold Fitz, thinking it'd never pop. He was this safe place for me and now he won't even look at me, Skye. My best friend in the whole world won't talk to me, won't look at me, he won't even be in the same room as me and now he's what? He's got a girlfriend? How did everything go so wrong so fast? How do I fix it?" She takes a deep breath and looks down at her hands.

Skye almost gasps at the brokenness that is Jemma Simmons, "You fix it by fighting. You want him back? Take him back." Jemma rolls her eyes at the bluntness that is Skye. Seeing that, Skye continues, "No eye rolling, I'm serious! Whatever that girl has going for her doesn't trump the years you two have spent together and the love you both have for each other, whether it's romantic or not!"

"Oh Skye, I think it's safe to assume that ship has sailed, and I just sort of waved as it passed by." Jemma moves to stand up and wipe her blouse to get the wrinkles out, "I don't know if I 'love' love Fitz, but it seems like an irrelevant question to ponder now, just like it was the last time."

Skye's eyes shoot up and meet Jemma's eagerly, "What do you mean 'the last time'?" When Jemma doesn't respond, Skye continues, "Jemma Simmons, I will not stop until I have the answer so you may as well spill."

Jemma huffs, "I don't want to talk about it. It was a long time ago and seems all but foolish now."

"Well now I have to know." Skye replies with a smile.

Shooting daggers at Skye, Jemma responds, "It is possible that I may have had a crush on him when we were at the Academy. It is also possible that I may have flirted with him constantly for months, hoping that he'd catch on and ask me out. This may seem very conceited of me, but when he didn't, I assumed he wasn't interested in women. That is, until he started dating Chelsea from Chem Lecture. After my ego healed, I realized I could never lose the friendship we had, it was too important. He was too important. So, whatever feelings I harbored for him, I let them go and eventually I stopped thinking of him like that all together. And then the box happened. And all of a sudden he was putting his feelings out there for me and I wasn't really sure if I even had mine anymore."

"So you really were caught off guard when he told you how he felt about you?" Skye questions.

"Entirely. I never thought he saw me like that. I never dreamed… I mean, it doesn't matter now. Me leaving him like I did , it'll never be the same between us." Skye watches as her friend wipes fresh tears off of her cheeks and places a bright, but entirely fake smile on her face, "Now then. I'd like it very much if you would drop the subject. It's time for dinner, and I'd like to get that over with and go to bed. I didn't sleep much last night, as you know."

Skye slides off the counter and loops her arm through Jemma's, "Then to dinner we'll go."

As the two make their way towards the dining hall Skye wonders if it's a blessing or a curse that Allison is there, just as she thought she'd be. On one hand, this is Step Two of the plan. On the other hand, her small, sad friend had just stopped crying and she would do anything to keep her from starting again.

Just as Skye was going to turn them around and make up an excuse, Simmons spots her, "Oh god Skye." She whispers, "She's here. What do I do? Do I say hello? Do I ignore her? Does she even know who I am?"

"Simmons! First off, you're breaking my arm. Let go. Thank you. And secondly, you're going to say hello, because she's walking towards the door and we are in the way."

Jemma cringes and looks up, coming face to face with Allison. She found herself thinking that no one should have a body AND a face like that. It simply wasn't fair.

Allison smiles, "Hi! You're Simmons right? I think you're the only one left I haven't met yet." She offers her hand and Jemma takes it.

With the fakest smile Skye has ever seen Simmons wear, she answers, "Yes, Jemma Simmons. I'm sorry, you are?"

Skye raises an eyebrow, impressed. Jemma may be a nerdy scientist, but she never fails to remind Skye that she's still a woman. And women can always default to bitch when they have no other option.

"Oh right. Sorry, it's Allison." She looks down, almost embarrassed, "Allison Gray. I've heard so much about you! I almost thought you were just a myth since I've been here for weeks and haven't seen you yet." Allison looks back up and is still smiling and Jemma wonders if that's how she used to look before life happened.

"Oh you know, I tend to stay in my own little world up there in the lab."

"I envy that, I'm stuck working in the garage all day with Mack and Fitz. Alone time must be a godsend."

Skye wonders how much Allison actually knew about Simmons and Fitz because this conversation felt like it was heading toward dangerous waters quickly.

"Yes I remember how tiresome dealing with those boys could be, especially Fitz." Jemma said with an almost cold tone to her voice.

_Whoop, there it is. Just throw it on out there, Jemma. _Skye thinks as she's looking between the two women.

"Ah yes, I remember Fitz saying something in passing about working with you. I hope I'm filling your shoes well enough down there for him."

_Oh shit, she did not! _Skye looks around the room in a shear panic until she spots Bobbi. She motions with her eyes that it's time for her to come over.

Jemma scoffs, "You know-"

She's interrupted by Bobbi, "Hey ladies! Sorry to interrupt but May just radioed in, the Bus is landing in 10 and Coulson wants to see Skye and Simmons ASAP."

Skye sighs in relief, "Oh darn, looks like we'll miss dinner. Oh well, let's go." She grabs Jemma's arm and pulls her out the door. Calling over her shoulder, "Great seeing you, Allison!"

Pacing down the hall until they were out of earshot, Jemma explodes, "Can you bloody believe her!? Who does she think she is? Acting like she's the new top dog and I'm just -"

"Jemma. Breathe. I hate to say it, but you started it." Skye wants to smile, but the look on her friend's face keeps her from entertaining the idea.

"Excuse me?!"

"'I'm sorry, you are?'" Skye mocks with her best attempt at a British accent, "'..how tiresome those boys could be, especially Fitz.'"

"Oh shut it, Skye! And I don't sound like that. And whatever, I don't like her and you can't make me." Jemma responds as she raises her chin.

Skye laughs, "Simmons."

"Don't Simmons me. So what if I was rude first, she was rude back. Which means she didn't take the high road, proving my earlier theory that she is a horrible person who doesn't deserve Fitz." Simmons catches her breath and continues, "Now come on, Coulson wants to see us on the Bus."

"Right, the Bus. You go on, I'm going to run to the bathroom, I'll be right behind you." Skye says as she walks away from her friend.

"Okay, but be quick with it!"

Skye ducks into the first bathroom she finds and pull out her phone, "Step Two has been taken care of. The final step is all yours. I'll be standing by for further instructions."

Skye finds Bobbi and together they make their way towards the Bus.

"So you're sure the camera feed is on? Because I do not want to miss this. Lance is on his way and Mack is already in position." Bobbi questions.

"There is no way on God's green earth that we're missing a second of this. We've come this far, Bobbi, this is it." Skye smirks as they quietly make their way to her old bunk.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so sorry this took so long publish! I've been swamped and I wanted to wait until I had time to put real effort into what I was writing. Thank you all for sticking with me! This is the last chapter. I can't wait for the show to come back and torture us all again! Enjoy!**

The first thing Simmons notices about the Bus is that the lights are all dimmed, as if no one is in it. The second thing is the note. There is a note taped to the door leading into the living space of the Bus. Plucking it off of the door, she unfolds it and it reads, 'The Cage. Immediately. -Coulson.'

"How peculiar." Jemma says to no one in particular. Crumpling up the paper, she makes her way toward the interrogation room, hoping against hope she didn't do something wrong or that she wouldn't have to deal with something dangerous. She hasn't had a good week...or months really, but who's counting.

As she's walking down the hall she hears a muffled noise coming from the room. The door is open but lights are out. Against her better judgement, she heads towards the frightening sound. Slowly, she peers inside only to find Fitz on his side, hogtied and gagged.

"What in Gods name!? Fitz!" She rushes in the room to kneel beside him, momentarily confused as to why he was adamantly shaking his head back and fourth. The question died on her lips when she hears the heavy door slam behind her.

"No! What in the- You have got to be kidding me!" She stands back up and pushes on the door, "How in the world did that close behind me? Fitz, what is going on!?"

She's still pushing on the door when she realizes he won't be able to answer her because she forgot to untie him.

Wincing, she turns around, "Oh dear Fitz, I'm terribly sorry!" She bends down and pulls the gag out of his mouth.

"Bout damn time, Jemma!"

Jemma just laughed and began untying his arms and legs, "Who on earth did this to you?"

"That traitor Mack. I p-p-put up a fight though. Almost had him for a second there." He answered, rubbing his wrists where his hands were bound. "I've been tied up in here for a little while now and I-I was racking my brain as to what I did to deserve this and couldn't think of anything. Th-th-then you came in and a light-bulb clicked."

"They locked us in here. Together." Jemma finishes his train of thought.

"Precisely."

They sit across from each other for a few moments before both breaking the awkward silence simultaneously, "Fitz" "Jemma".

"Sorry, go ahead." Jemma says, gesturing for him to continue.

He looks down at his hands and then back up at her, "I was just gonna say this is the l-longest we've spent together since you've been back."

"I suppose you're right." Jemma responds, looking anywhere but at Fitz.

After another moment of deafening silence Fitz asks, "How are we going to get out of here?"

Simmons sighs, "That, I do not know."

Back in Skye's old bunk people are fighting for space. Lance, Bobbi, Skye, and now Mack are all attempting to fit inside of her tiny bunk and see the laptop she's holding.

"Excuse me Love, a little to the right please, I'm getting a slight glare." Lance says as he adjusts the pillows behind him.

"I don't exactly remember inviting you here. Skye, did you invite him?" Bobbi asks with an eye roll.

Skye looks between the on again off again couple with a sigh, "Yes, actually, I did. Despite his less than graceful and totally unappreciated attempt at helping us, he may have actually pushed Simmons towards her realization that she's in love with Fitz. So, in light of that, he stays."

"Wait. Did she tell you she's in love with him? You didn't tell me that!" Bobbi responds.

"Well. I mean, not in so many words. But she totally is. She hates Allison and hated her before even laying eyes on her because we came up with that genius story about him sleeping with her. And if she wasn't interested in him, that wouldn't have bothered her."

"Woah now. That wasn't a part of the plan!" Mack interjects, "She's a nice girl and a great asset to the team. I don't want this little plan of yours to mess with her reputation."

"Oh calm down soldier. Allison knows. She suggested it, actually. I like that girl, by the way. She really had Jemma tied in knots in the cafeteria, it was great. And Jemma will like her too, once she stops hating her of course."

"You are a twisted woman, Skye." Mack mutters as he leans back against the wall of the plane, "Twisted."

"You always say the nicest things to me, Mack." Skye returns with a grin.

Back in the Cage, things have gone from awkward to icy and Jemma doesn't know how to fix it. Talking to Fitz used to be as easy as breathing. Easier, if you can imagine. But now, she's not sure anything she says will fix the distance between them. And it broke her heart. Losing him was like losing an arm. It was this thing that was so essential to your life, and then it was just gone. Sometimes you could almost feel it, but then you'd look over beside you and remember all over again just what you'd lost, and how you've give anything to get it back.

The words come out before she can push them down, "I miss you."

Fitz's gaze snaps up to meet hers and with more bitterness than she had ever heard from he's kind, Scottish mouth, he answered, "Yeah. You might of thought about that before running away."

"Fitz." She locks her hands together and looks up as if to will the tears to not spill over.

"Don't 'Fitz' me. You know you did. I-I-I laid it all out there and you didn't feel the same way and you know what, that's okay. Life life goes on. But you are Jemma Simmons. My Jemma, and you left me" He pauses to catch his breath, "And then you came back and couldn't even bother to say why to my face. So don't 'Fitz' me. I don't care to hear it now."

"I didn't leave because of what you said, Fitz! I already told you that. God, I wanted to be beside you every step of your recovery. If you needed for anything, I couldn't imagine a place I'd rather be. But that was making it worse. I was making you worse. So I left. I left you because you needed me to, whether you see it or not." She says with a conviction he hadn't heard before.

"I needed you here."

"You needed to get better." She pauses, "And me being here, finishing your sentences, giving you every easy way out was only making you worse. I care about you far too much to be the reason you weren't getting better. I'm the reason you were hurt in the first place." She turns towards one of the walls as the tears spill over and down her cheek, "If I had been faster or come up with a better plan, none of this would've happened."

Fitz sighs and runs his hands through his hair and across his scruffy face, "Ward did this, Jemma. And I made my own decisions in that pod. I don't hold that against you."

"But I do. I hold them against me! We fix things together, Fitz! That's the rule. That's our thing. And you up and decided that I didn't get a say. That me living was more important than you living. But in what world does my life make any sense without you in it? It doesn't. But I didn't even get to say anything before you pressed that damn button and destroyed my whole world!"

"Well I'm so bloody sorry I saved your life and ruined your whole world! Excuse me!" Fitz yelled.

"God Fitz, you really don't get it do you!? If you hadn't made it, that would've been the end of me. These months without you have been a literal hell. I don't eat. I barely sleep. Imagine me if you had died. Imagine what would be left of me! Nothing. I wouldn't make it." She breaths, "And that scares the hell out of me."

"And so you left."

"And so I left."

Skye's bunk is buzzing with adrenaline by now.

"There it is! She basically just said she loved him. That was basically a monologue of love. They're getting married. I can't even right now."

"God, Mack, calm the hell down." Skye responds, but secretly she completely agrees, "The 'I love you' is coming. I can feel it."

"If she says 'I love you', I'm probably going to pass out. Possibly from the lack of oxygen in this bunk, but if I'm honest with myself, the feels are really getting to me."

"I can't believe I was married to such a girl." Bobbi remarks, but with a smile on her face. She knows that if anyone were to pass out, it'd probably be Skye. She's not sure the hacker has taken a complete breath since Fitz told Simmons to not 'Fitz' him.

"OH MY GOD GUYS HE JUST TOOK A STEP TOWARDS HER." Skye said loud enough she was sure the rest of the Playground heard her, "They are less than 3 feet away from each other. This is happening. This is not a drill!"

"Shut it woman!" Lance barked at her, "He looks like he's about to say something!"

"Jemma, I made it, okay. And I know I-I'm damaged, but I'm alive. And you saved me. I know that it was scary. But it's over. We're okay."

"We aren't okay at all." Jemma whispers.

"No, I suppose we aren't."

Jemma has spent roughly a decade loving the man standing in front of her. And almost losing him nearly destroyed her. But running away and then keeping him at arm's length wasn't going to fix anything. And the most important realization she's come to is that she's absolutely positive arm's length is much too far away.

"Did you know I had a crush on you when we were at the Academy? She asks.

Fitz's eyes meet hers and he gives her a sad smile, "I thought you might have once. But then I saw you kissing Tucker Williams in the Boiler room one night and assumed I had been mistaken."

Jemma laughs and it takes Fitz by surprise, "Of course you saw that. I'm guessing you didn't stick around after you saw us then."

"No, I didn't particularly want to see that any longer than necessary."

"Then I can also assume you didn't see me pour my drink on him for kissing me without my consent."

Fitz purses his lips together and shakes his head, "I seemed to have missed that."

"It seems like we both miss important things."Jemma knows that this could very well ruin the progress they've made tonight and even their relationship all together but she knows it's now or never and she takes a deep breath.

"I buried those feelings a long time ago. It was better for us to just not have to deal with the messiness a relationship would bring. You're my best friend and I never thought for you as more after I decided I shouldn't. And then down there in that box you told me I was more than a best friend and my very first thought was 'Of course I am', like it was the most obvious thing you've ever said to me." She breaths, "I think I've always loved you. It's always been there, Fitz, on some level I suppose. Just buried so deep beneath the life we've made for ourselves. I'm so sorry I didn't realize it before. I'm so sorry you had to almost die for me to get it. And I know you're with Allison now and this ship has sailed, but I needed you to know that it wasn't one-sided, you and me."

Fitz went from pure shock to pure confusion, "Allison? What on earth are you talking about?"

"Oh Fitz, don't act naive, Skye told me all about the agent you've been seeing. We may or may not have looked into her records and she's a lovely girl. I'm not trying to come in between your happiness."

"Jemma, if you had to guess one person on this planet who would lock us in a room together to work our problems out, what's the first name that comes to mind?" Fitz questions.

"Skye."

"And who comes to mind when you think of fake records and storytelling?"

"...Skye."

"And I'm naive?" Fitz was smiling now.

"I'm going to kill her."

Fitz laughed and moved closer, "Before you do that, would it be alright if I kissed you now? Because I've waited 10 years for you to tell me you love me and I'm not sure I can wait another minute."

"Are you sure? After everything…. What if it doesn't work between us?" She whispers, suddenly aware of how close he is.

"What if it does?" He responds, running a hand across her cheek to wipe a forgotten tear away.

"Fitz?"

"Yes, Jemma?"

"You may kiss me now."

He grins and wastes no time. He closes the distance between them faster than she could imagine possible. At first his kiss is soft, almost as if he's still asking permission. Only when she wraps both arms around his neck and pulls him against her is he done asking. He soft kisses turns into years of pent up emotions and suddenly she's backed against the wall and he's doing things to her neck she didn't know were possible. She leans her head back to grant him more room and that's when she sees it.

"Fitz." She's out of breath.

"Hmm?" He replies, still busy with her neck but quickly moving back towards her mouth.

"There is a camera in here." She says in between kisses.

He pauses and looks over at the camera and then back at her, "I'm sure they video interrogations."

"The red light is blinking." She says calmly, already knowing exactly why the camera is on.

He releases her reluctantly and walks over to the camera and taps the lens twice , "Excuse me, Skye? I th-think maybe you should open the door now."

"I think you should leave the door closed, Skye. Because when you let me out, I will end you." Simmons adds.

"Well, I'm going to head to bed, seems like everything worked out smashing, good night everyone!" Lance spits out as he's racing out of the bunk.

Mack moves to leave as well, "You're right. Totally exhausted. Gonna head straight to bed. Goodnight. I hope I see you tomorrow."

Bobbi gets up and puts a hand on Skye's shoulder, "You've been a good friend. Good luck." And then she was gone.

"And then there was one." Skye says to herself as she picks up her phone and makes the call.

"My mission is complete. FitzSimmons is back in business. I expect no more problems out of the pair. However, there was one complication. I've been made, Sir. They know I was behind it." Skye waits for the answer she knows she'll hear.

"Well then I guess you better lock your bunk's door because I just remotely unlocked the Cage door. And remember, my involvement is classified. Good luck, Skye. I'll see you soon."

"No wait! Coulson? AC? You seriously hung up on me? Hello? Damn it." She puts the phone down and looks back at her screen. The room is empty. "Oh shit. OH SHIT!" She moves to close her door only to find Fitz and Simmons leaning against the frame.

"Hey..you guys..this is going to be such a funny story one day. You'll laugh. One day. Guys? Funny, right? No?"

Simmons just smiles and says, "My revenge will be slow and it will be sweet." And then she calmly takes Fitz's hand and leads them out of the Bus.

Fitz looks back at her and mouths 'thank you' with a wink.

Skye just smiles and nods in return. Leaning back on her bed, she closes her laptop, "Worth it."


End file.
